Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1887-03-23
CAUGHT IN A FlRE-TRAP.
About Thirty Lives Lost BY the Burn.
ing Of an Hotel at Buffalo.
New York.
Thrilling Scenes About the Structure,
and Heroic Work by the
Rescuers.
Buffalo speclal.l

Buffalo special
Another calamity hos visited Buffalo.
The splendid new Richmond Hotel, at ths
corner Of Maia aud Eagle streets, was to.
tally destroyed by Gre early Friday morning,
together With st. James Hall and other nd-
iacent property. The mos, distressful part
bf III, disa ter Is tho loss of several human
lives. At this writing II is impossible to
cay jus. how many PERSONS are killed and
injured, but the number is large. The rap
Idly OF the fire, cutting off all nieat5s OF
escare, led some persons to leap for life
from the windows. Others got down the
fire-escapes OF ON Hayes ladders raised
by TIE fire department. The shrieks
and cries Of tie p0of people In the
heartrending. On, man, mad with terror,
leaped from third-story window, and was
picked tip from the stone sidewalk on Main
street q mans1ed aud bleeding corpse.
Several who succeeded IN making their
eseape were badly injured and burned.
and Some Of these will probably die.
Others. more fortunate, escaped with
slight injuries. Many of the wounded
were taken to Carneys saloon, and after
ward to hospitals. Robert Stafford, ST..
proprietor of the hotel, with his wife, occu-
pied rooms on the second floor, and had a
narrow escape. Terror overcame every
body, and even those who escaped In
safety were IN many cases prost, ated by
their awful experiences. There were l25
persons III the hotel, seventy of whom were
transient guests, eight bearders. and the
remainder porters, bell-boys, the families
Of the proprietors, and clerks. Twenty.
two of these were rescued from the win
dows by the fremen, twenty-five are at the
hospitals, and large numb,r made their
escape by other means. There is no doubt
that at least thirty lives were sacrificed.
The spread Of the flames is said TO have
been frightful in their rapidity. The ele.
vator shaft served as a tire for the flames,
and they rushed up to the top floor in 0
very few moments. As the guests were
reused and saw the interior exits cut of
they turned to the windows. They could
be seen in their night clothes, standing out
clear and vivid before the lurid back ground
of the flames. Their screams were
horrible 10 hear, and they could b<
heard for blocks. The flames spread
10 the southeast side of the hote
first. The tiremen did noble work and
confined the fire to the narrow limits oi
the three buildings named. Their work oi
rescue had many exciting incidents.
Perhaps the most thrilling escape Of any
was that Of Pres Whitaker, step-son o1
Proprietor Stafford. He roomed in the
fifth story, and when aroused stepped Il
| the window and looked down for few
seconds. Then he deliberately dressed
himself aud, emerging from the window
stood on the stone Gaping above the win.
dow beneath. From this capping Lo step,
ped to the next one along the front of til,
| building, and proceeded in this manner X
the Hayes truck ladder at the other ex'
tremity Of the front. The nerve and cool
| ness displayed we're remarkable.
| Mr.. Whitaker reports that larg,
amount OF diamonds were In the hotel Frida,
night. b. f. Robertson, of Lambert 4
| CO., had stock valued at $50, 900 depos
tied in the safe. Mr.. Alder had in hi
room $30, 900 worth. and Mr.. Smith hat
another considerable stock, but the amour
was not known.
| Five girls who roomed on the fifth foo
made rope out Of the bedclothes and hum